Threats of Violence
by Norrrrrrrrrr
Summary: People had the oddest ideas about how Andromeda and Ted's relationship got started. However no-one ever believed it started when she began stalking him. One-shot I'm trying to turn into a larger story. Every review helps.


**AN:** I've always liked the idea of Andromeda and Ted as a relationship. There's a lot you can do with it, but I've never liked the idea that everyone seems to have that Andromeda needs 'rescuing'. This is my alternative take on it.

Ted's life got a lot more interesting the day he realised he was being stalked.

Andromeda Black was widely considered one of the most beautiful girls in Hogwarts, something Ted could never understand. She always seemed so cold, so distant. The other problem was that Andromeda was a pureblood from an infamously bigoted family. Her paying any kind of positive attention to a muggleborn made no sense.

So it was very understandable why Ted was worried. He didn't know much about her, even though he shared most of his classes with her and had seen her in the Slug Club on the one time he'd gone. Since he'd noticed her watching him though he'd picked up on a certain hostility. Ted had tried to remember if he'd ever done anything that might have offended her, but had come up blank.

He hadn't told his friends about her, mostly because he doubted they'd believe him. Instead, he'd made a habit of not being on his own in the corridors. It was sensible even if it was all in his head, given the attitude some people were taking about muggleborns these days.

That was until the day he'd decided to make a quick run to the owlery and found himself being shadowed by the tall woman herself.

Ted had sped up and thrown himself around the next corner with as much grace as he could muster. And then-

"Bollocks." The word slipped out of his mouth as he realised he'd made the wrong turn and trapped himself in a dead end corridor.

The sound of footsteps behind him caused him to turn around slowly. Whatever this was about, Black looked absolutely livid. "Are these yours?" she asked, brandishing a handful of papers in his face.

Ted quickly assessed the situation. Andromeda was within arm's reach; if she went for her wand he could lunge forward and grab her before she got a chance to curse him. "I don't know," he replied cautiously, looking at the notes and finding them so badly scrunched in her fist that they were illegible. "What are they?"

"You should know," she yelled, shoving the handful of papers into Ted's chest hard enough to make him stumble backwards. "You wrote them. Listen," she hissed, stepping up close to him, her face inches from his. He felt the point of a wand dig into his ribs. "If you want to get yourself expelled for tampering with the Hogwarts wards, that's fine. Just don't go handing your notes on it to my cousin."

"Your cousin is Sirius, right?" asked Ted, wishing his voice would just sound calm. "He had these?"

"I found him and that Lupin boy with them." Andromeda's wand dug deeper into his ribs and her eyes flashed. "What they were planning to do with them I don't know but-"

"I wouldn't know," Ted said, cutting her off before she could build up anymore steam. "but I didn't give them to Sirius. He must have taken them when I was distracted." Her face faltered for a moment and Ted realised he'd taken her by surprise. "Did you even bother asking them whether I gave them the notes?"

Andromeda paused, the colour going out of her face in a rush before returning just as rapidly. "No. I didn't." She stepped back, looking at a loss.

"I bragged about them to one of my friends awhile back," added Ted, willing her to believe him. "He must have heard me."

She stared at him for a long moment. "You're actually telling the truth, aren't you?" she said, more as a statement than a question.

"I'm Sorry," said Andromeda. "I just don't like Sirius getting into more trouble than he already does and I thought..." She looked away from him for a moment. "Well I thought he'd pissed you off and you were looking to get him in trouble."

"Why did you think that?" asked Ted.

"Aren't you aware my brother's a little shit?" Andromeda laughed weakly. "And he did drench all of your transfiguration class in-"

"Yes well, that wasn't just me, was it?" Ted replied, cutting her off. "Please don't remind me about that one. It took forever to get the smell off."

"Okay," replied Andromeda, smiling a little. "Should have known it wasn't your fault really. You're far too nice for something as devious as that."

"Err... thanks I guess." This was not going the way he'd thought it would at all.

"That was pretty clever work by the way. The numerology was a bit off but your runework was genius. I would never have thought of accessing the wards like that."

"Thanks," Ted said, surprised. He ran a hand through his hair nervously. "The professors told me it was pretty good too. Still asked me to stop though."

"Really," she said, eyebrow raised, the smile back. "I bet they had higher praise for you than that."

It was odd, but it was the first time Ted had ever seen why so many boys at the school thought Andromeda was beautiful. Part of him had always seen her aristocratic features, the high cheek bones, her height and immediately categorised her as snobbish. But when she smiled Andromeda came off as a completely different girl. To be more accurate, she ceased looking like her sisters.

"Are you going to answer me or just keep staring at me?" she asked, clearly amused.

"Sorry. What was the question?"

The grin grew wider. "The teachers were very impressed when they saw your work, weren't they?" she asked, eyes flicking down to his notes.

"Uh... yeah, I guess." Ted hesitated for a moment. "Sorry. This just isn't what I expected, that's all." He could still feel where her wand had dug into his side.

"You expected to end up in the hospital wing, didn't you?"

"Uh... well yes actually." A gasp of nervous laughter slipped out before he could help it.

Andromeda's smile turned sheepish. "I was originally planning to, so..."

"What?" yelped Tonks. "I thought you were only threatening me." A blatant lie actually.

"It wasn't going to be anything serious," replied Andromeda. "Just something that you couldn't reverse on your own."

"You know most people would just use the threat of violence right?" Ted watched her face for a moment and thought he saw something that looked a little like guilt.

"You don't many Slytherins, do you?"

"Your entire house can't be that bad," replied Ted. "You don't seem to be entirely bad yourself either. I mean, you could have just cursed me in the back earlier."

"Yeah, well the fact I like you must have got in the way." There was a wink that came along with that.

"What?"

"Is it that so surprising?" asked Andromeda, smiling oddly.

"Yes. You were going to curse me."

"I know," replied Andromeda, looking thoughtful. "I must have been looking for an excuse to talk to you and not even realised it."

She twirled a strand of hair around her finger, not looking directly at him. "Maybe I should have a word with Slughorn about partnering us up as a punishment."

"I don't-"

"Well I'll see you in class Tonks." She turned to walk away, just leaving him standing there, completely lost about what had just happened.

"Sure thing Andromeda." Ted stared at her retreating form. He had no idea whether she was messing with him or not.

"It's Ted by the way." He blinked in surprise as the last part just slipped out.

She turned to face him, smiling that same odd smile. "Oh I know."

**AN:** Well, there you go. I've been trying to write this properly as a longer fic for a while, but never really managed it, so I just figured I'd put up the bare-bones of it to see what people think. Please review. It helps, honest.


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